Liam couldn’t figure Beth out, where he had gone wrong. Sure once she showed up in Cordonia he had led her on making her think she had a chance, but he never had any intention of marrying her. He hadn’t expected to see her again after he took her back to his hotel and fucked her brains out. Then Maxwell had to of course bring her here, the idiot. So he led her on, she was a good lay and she was already head over heels with him. He thought for sure she would fail, but she was a strong suitor, loved by all, except for him.
When he saw he may be pressured to choose Beth, he arranged for photos Maxwell had taken in New York that showed them getting very cozy, to be sold. Of course Bastien had to catch wind and put a stop to the pictures being published. Sometimes he thought Bastien was too good at his job.
He made a new plan, one that would be easier to control, he convinced a new guard to deliver Tariq the letters, making it look like Beth was in love with him and not the future king. He arranged Tariq to “meet” Beth in her room, he made sure Drake was kept busy. Drake’s fondness for Beth would only get in the way of his plan. He knew what Tariq would do after those letters, but he figured it would scare her away from court. He counted on the shame and pain being too much and her leaving, he hadn’t counted on her love for him being so strong. He was glad he’d arranged for the photographer just incase, a way to ensure she wouldn’t be eligible to be queen.
He expected her to flee once the photos were released, she’d long since stopped being useful to him, a flaw in his plan he hadn’t counted on. But she stayed, she wanted to know who set her up, he couldn’t let her find out he was behind it. At first he thought making her think there was a chance once her name was cleared was a way too keep an eye on her progress, but what if she figured it out. He need to make her leave.
He’d show her she wasn’t the one he wanted, she never had been, he didn’t know why everyone thought he loved her. Sure he didn’t have to keep stringing her along, but he had so much fun toying with her emotions, watching her break. But no matter how much he broke her, crushed her spirit, she stayed, it was infuriating really, why wouldn’t she just leave?
Bastien was becoming a problem again, he had thought the photos seemed off, something he mentioned to him countless times after the Coronation. But then Bastien came to him with startling news, he spoke of what happened to Beth. Liam was well and truly shocked, no not by what Tariq had done, he had counted on it. He was shocked that Beth had trusted Bastien enough to tell him what occurred that night. Where was her shame, why was she telling him? Was Bastien becoming more of a problem than he thought? He would keep an eye on Bastien, hopefully he wouldn’t have to take out the head of the royal guard to keep his secret.
